Holidaying on the continent to avoid ash cloud and cabin crew strike cancellations could save on wasted time in airports but may not be a cheaper option as fuel prices are set to rise across Europe, according to the Post Office’s Travel Money report. It says that continental fuel prices have gone up by as much as 24p a litre for unleaded petrol and 30p for diesel. Despite this, Europe is still cheaper than the UK for diesel motorists.

The highest rises are in Sweden which actually had the lowest prices in 2009. Germany saw the lowest increases in price, up 4% for unleaded and 12% for diesel. Diesel costs 19p less a litre in Spain (£1) than in the UK (£1.23).

Luxumbourg is the thriftiest place to drive with 91p litres of diesel, the only place in Europe where you can get this amount of fuel for under a pound.

In France, diesel costs 24% more than a year ago but still remains 5p cheaper than in the UK. However, unleaded petrol in France has risen by only 7.6%, far below the 17.3% increase in the UK.

Post Office head of travel money Sarah Munro said: “Fuel costs may have risen steeply across Europe this year but our survey again found wide variations in pump prices. This means that UK tourists taking motoring holidays can still make significant savings if they plan carefully. For example, motorists travelling through eastern France could save 15.7 per cent by crossing into Luxembourg and filling up there.

“The clear message to tourists is to check prices before planning their route and fill up in countries where unleaded petrol or diesel is cheaper. Avoid topping up the tank on motorways and instead get fuel at the ferry ports, where it is invariably cheaper, or stop at European supermarkets where it costs less too.

“With sterling on the rise, tourists should also change money in the UK before they leave to avoid paying more overseas.”

If you’d like more information on the report, then you can view it here.